BNY Mellon announced that Pershing's clearing and custody services will be used by Ashton Thomas Securities, an independent broker-dealer and RIA with more than $2 billion in client assets.
The move follows the acquisition of Ashton Thomas Securities, formerly called Excel Securities, by Arax in December to serve as the hybrid broker-dealer for Ashton Thomas Private Wealth, an Arax advisory firm whose advisors manage more than $5 billion in slient assets, Pershing said in the news release.
“Arax is making a name for itself as an attractive partner for high-growth wealth managers, and Pershing is delighted to help support its new broker-dealer and RIA, Ashton Thomas Securities,” Ben Harrison, head of wealth solutions at Pershing, said in a statement. “We have a long history working with the firm when it operated as Excel Securities and look forward to providing them with the tools that will help them grow and flourish with Arax.”
Arax is an asset and wealth management platform company backed by the private equity firm RedBird Capital Partners, which supports RIAs, wealth managers and advisor teams seeking to scale their businesses and expand their client offerings, the announcement said.
As part of the agreement, advisors from Ashton Thomas Securities will also be able to use BNY Mellon Precision Direct Indexing, which is a customizable investment strategy that can be integrated into clients’ portfolios.
“As we continue to expand and strengthen our wealth management platform, we’re excited to be developing a relationship with one of the industry’s leading providers of clearing and custody services,” Haig Ariyan, CEO of Arax Investment Partners, said in a statement. “Pershing’s technology capabilities and breadth of services it can tap into as part of BNY Mellon make them an ideal collaborator for the broker-dealers and advisors we bring onto our platform.”
Dave DiPetrillo, head of North America distribution at BNY Mellon Investment Management, said in a statement, “We continue to see growing demand for tax management and portfolio customization capabilities from leading wealth management firms for their advisors. Offering the capabilities of BNY Mellon Investment Management through Pershing provides Ashton Thomas Securities’ advisors with a compelling direct indexing solution.”